Cimes et Visages du Haut Dauphiné, by Felix Germain. 185 pages, including 110 photographs in black and white, 16 in color, and 17 vignettes, one map and a circular panorama with key. Paris: Arthaud, 1955.

An excellent picture-book of Dauphiné, with appropriate text, this volume (24th in the series "Belles Pages, Belles Couleurs”) presents a cross section of an area that has been almost neglected by American mountaineers. Almost two-thirds of the pictures deal with high-level mountaineering or skiing, but the valley scenery, peasant life, villages and flowers are amply included. It is a more barren area than one finds in the chain of Mont Blanc, but no one can deny the majesty of its peaks as shown in the magnificent views of La Meije and Les Ecrins. The color-plates are unusually good, but the explanatory text of the illustrations (because of their bled edges) is in the back of the book, making it awkward for reference.

J. Monroe Thorington